This invention relates to boat trailers, and more particularly to an improved trailer having a novel hinge device for pivotally connecting a forward portion of the trailer drawbar to a rear portion thereof, so that the overall length of the drawbar can be reduced to enable the trailer to fit within a conventional garage, or the like.
With boating becoming more and more popular, the number of small-boat owners has been on the increase. Moreover, many such owners prefer to keep their boats at or near their respective homes, when not in use. As a consequence, they frequently use conventional boat trailers not only for conveying their boats to and from launching sites, but also for storing their boats when not in use.
In most cases it is preferred to store a boat and its associated trailer indoors, such as for example in one's garage. Not infrequently, however, the trailer is too long to fit within a conventional garage. For example when the trailer is backed into the garage with the boat thereon, although the boat itself may fit within the garage, frequently the drawbar, which projects from the front end of the trailer, extends well beyond the garage door, so that is is impossible to close the door over the boat and trailer. As a consequence, in those cases the owners are often required to store their boat and associated trailer out-of-doors. This not only subjects the boat to damage by weather or vandalism, but also can prove to be an eyesore to the local community.
There are a number of prior art trailers which are of the collapsible or foldable variety, but none has addressed itself to the problem solved by applicant's invention. U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,264, for example, discloses an articulated or foldable boat trailer having a two-piece frame the two sections of which are pivotally connected together about a horizontal axis, so that the trailer can be folded substantially into half of its normal size and can be carried on an automobile when not in use. In such a collapsed condition, however, it is incapable of supporting a boat thereon.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,138 discloses an adjustable trailer hitch comprising an articulated arm hinged intermediate its ends, but the arm does not form part of the trailer proper, but is adapted to be interposed between a trailer and an associated towing vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,982 discloses a socket or ball hitch which is bolted to the front end of a trailer tongue or drawbar, but the latter is not adjustable in length in any way. The U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,190 discloses a multipurpose trailer having a telescopically adjustable tongue or drawbar, but this design permits the forward end of the drawbar to be adjusted only in the direction of the axis of the drawbar, and this adjustment is limited to the extent that any fixtures are mounted on the section of the drawbar which telescopes into the other section of the drawbar.
It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide novel hinge means for enabling one simply to reduce the overall length of a boat trailer drawbar, when not in use, thereby to enable the trailer, with a boat supported thereon, to be stored within a conventional garage.
It is a further object of this invention to provide for a boat trailer or the like a novel hinge mechanism which can be readily incorporated in a trailer tongue or drawbar selectively to reduce the length of the latter by folding it intermediate its ends about one of two, parallel hinge axes.
Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and the appended claims, particularly when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings.